Spa Spy: Marine Spa at St David’s Hotel, Cardiff

The spa: Situated deep within Cardiff’s only contemporary five-star hotel, the glass-fronted Marine Spa affords great views across the bay — which you can gaze across from the comfort of the salt-water swimming pool, part of a stunning health complex of saunas and treatment rooms. It specialises in thalassotherapies, offering numerous massage-based treatments, using a range of products that includes ESPA.

The symptoms: A football-related injury has left Spa Spy with scar tissue in the foot, that has been causing him pain when seated at a work desk for long periods and needs near-constant loosening up.

The prescription: The therapist Charlene recommended a reflexology treatment (£66.50 for 55 mins), which ought to provide at least temporary relief.

The procedure: Charlene listened patiently to the oft-told story of how Spa Spy acquired his ailment, then got to work on the right foot, massaging the lumpy tissue with aromatic ESPA oils.

The verdict: It’s a pleasurable experience to have your feet rubbed expertly. Spy felt the difference immediately, although he is aware that regular manipulation and ice treatment is still needed to deal with the aches from the scarring.

The medical opinion: “Spa Spy’s foot pain following the football injury is almost certainly due to pressure from the scar tissue on the cutaneous nerves in the skin,” writes Dr James LeFanu. “It is certainly encouraging that this should have improved with the massage treatment, which would both improve the local circulation and soften up the fibrous tissue — but further treatment will probably be necessary.”

The feelgood factor: As befits one of the finest luxury hotels in Wales, St David’s attracts a smart, young and moneyed crowd. The world’s most expensive footballer, Gareth Bale, conducted his first UK interview here after his move to Real Madrid, and the Tempus at Tides restaurant is something of a local magnet for Wags; expect to see plenty of salon-tanned and carefully coiffured guests dining on dishes made with locally sourced produce.